Apocalyptic Annie
by Saved by Dark Innocence
Summary: A shitty day turns into a shitty life, that's how the saying goes nowadays. When you're not fighting off Walkers, your running from group to group, avoiding being eaten, murdered and robbed but I have a reason to live, I have a reason to fight. Someone has to protect her, someone has to keep her safe. Why can't that someone be me? *Rewritten Story* Please read and review!**
1. Preface

**Apocalyptic Annie**

**The Walking Dead Fanfition**

**Preface**

"I was one of those people that knew how horrible the world was, how cruel people could be and how sick Humanity really was. And I knew that there were crazy people, murderers and rapists – y'know, all the scary stuff you read in Newspapers and see on TV. But despite all that, I was carefree and reckless. Consequences didn't frighten me and the world was my oyster.

Until one day, when everything changed and went to hell so quick it was hard to believe that I was having a bad day at work. Suddenly being young, smart and enthusiastic didn't matter anymore. It was survival of the fittest, and at the time it seemed like the walking dead were the only ones fit enough to survive.

It seemed so long ago when I think about it now…the dead were walking around, eating people and they couldn't be reasoned with. The nasty world didn't seem so nasty anymore and I had to stop eating from my oyster and start working my ass off to try and live. Living is all anyone has to look forward to now.

It's amazing how this apocalypse changes people. I was a weak little girl, now I'm strong enough and kicking so much ass, I think no one in my old life would recognize me. It's not necessarily a good thing because _I_ don't recognise me, either.

It gets harder every day, a little tougher to survive but we've made it this far so I think we're strong enough to survive the worst of it all…"

"You think we're strong enough to survive this thing?"

"I think, if we keep going the way we're going, we can survive anything."

"And how do you know?"

"Because…I'm Apocalyptic Annie…"

* * *

**A/N: Hello hi, so I had a new idea for my little story so I'm taking it through a rewrite because it was difficult to write about BETH since the last episode...*sob* and I've been playing TWD game, and I fell in love with those characters and got even more inspired so I decided why not give Annie a little reboot.**

**So here's hoping it'll be a good story!**

**Please read and review!**

**\- SBDI**


	2. Chapter 1 Daylight Part 1

**Apocalyptic Annie**

**Chapter 1**

**Daylight Part 1**

**Day 1**

_Today is going to be an absolutely shitty day, I can feel it in my bones! _

I was rushing up the stairs, trying to juggle my coffee, car keys, bag, laptop case and my overdue assignment. I turned the corner and burst through the door, hoping I looked presentable enough to face my stupid boss. I walked as casually as I could past my co-workers, ignoring their stupid grins as I gently dumped everything on my desk and walked towards my boss's office. I pushed open the door and put on the fakest smile I could muster.

"Morning Charlie," I beamed while thinking very bad thoughts.

"Annie, just the person I wanted to see," Charlie replied. She was a very tall woman with a very bad perm and a sour expression. She didn't even look at me, "You're late. Again."

I peeked at my watch, "Only by two minutes. And in any case, I was just finishing up my assignment and running some errands for you," I stepped forward, "Here's your coffee, by the way."

I put the coffee on her desk and she glared at the cup as if it was her worst enemy. She looked up at me, "You look like shit."

I stared down at my sneakers, "Sorry, I'm working on three hours of sleep here."

"That's your problem," she waved me off. "Work on your assignment on your own time, Annie. Your studies are your problem. And by the way, the project I asked you to work on for me for my presentation tomorrow is absolute shit. I asked for a presentation on why manufacturing beauty products on synthetic skin is the best solution for testing, and I get a hippy-rant on its better than testing it on animals."

"But it's the truth––"

"It's garbage," she snapped. She turned her chair away from me, "Now do your job and go pick up my dry-cleaning down town for my meeting tonight."

"You mean you cheating on your husband," I mumbled under my breath while I turned on my heel and shuffled out of her office, closing the door behind me.

_She is such a cow! _

I went to my desk and gathered my things and started for the stairs, just my friend reached my arm, "Hey, what did Charlie say?"

"Oh, you know, your presentation was shit, you look like shit, you are shit," I shrugged. "The normal stuff. But it doesn't matter, Tasha, I'm leaving soon!" I turned to my dark-haired friend, "I finally had enough money to pay for medical school. It took six years, but I finally did it!"

"So you're leaving?" Tasha grinned, "Finally getting out of this thing?"

"Yup, and the best part is that I got a new job close to home as well that doesn't give me as much drama and that Charlie woman," we finally reached the ground floor and walked towards the car. "And then, I'll get out of here!"

"That's wonderful Annie! Is it that job with Carly?" Tasha grinned, and gave me a big smile.

"Yeah. So if medical school doesn't work out, I can be a reporter," I unlocked the car door, "I've been kissing Charlie's ass for so long that I think if I don't get this thing, I might just jump off the roof."

Tasha giggled, "Charlie will need you nonetheless. She'll find some way to bring you back––"

A loud scream echoed around the underground parking and made all my hair stand on ends. I locked the car again out of instinct and we started walking back to the building. I worked in quite a dangerous area that was filled with drug dealers and gangs, and robberies happened often because the bank was two blocks down. So when I heard a scream, my first instinct was to lock the car and drag Tasha back to the building. As we crossed to get to the door, I saw two people almost run us over as they went up the stairwell. The screaming still rang out, but it sounded gurgled and wet.

"What's happening?" Tasha asked, grabbing on my hand tightly.

"It doesn't matter, just keep on walking––"

"Annie, look!" Tasha pulled me to a stop just before we reached the door. There, by the entrance of the parking lot, a woman was lying on the floor and someone was on top of her. There were three people behind them, moving at a slow pace and moaning, and groaning.

They seemed to turn to the sound of Tasha's exclamation. I put my hand on her back and pushed her towards the stairs, "Go, go, go!"

We took the stairs two at a time, but we heard the moaning follow us. We reached our floor and stumbled to a stop. There was blood all over, smeared over the windows and the walls, and in puddles on the floor. Tasha stopped to examine it, but I grabbed her hand and dragged her to our offices. I noticed the doors were closed and pulled the door, but it didn't open.

"What the hell?" I let go of Tasha and pulled on the door harder, but it just rattled on its hinges, "Why won't it open?! Why is it locked?!"

Tasha peeked in the window and jumped back when Charlie's face appeared in the door's window. She grinned, "Charlie, open for us."

Charlie shook her head and I heard another lock, latch into place. The moaning and gurgling grew louder behind us. I pulled on the door, "Open for us, Charlie!" she shook her head, and it was then that I noticed that there was blood on the side of her face. I pulled the door again, "Open for us!"

"Go away," Charlie said, "You'd be more useful to us dead."

Tasha's teary blue eyes looked at me, "What does she mean?"

I pulled the doors again, rattled them on its hinges, "Open for us, you bitch!"

The groaning grew louder and as I turned, a man stumbled from the stairwell on top of Tasha. Tasha screamed and fell to the ground. The man kept opening and closing his mouth, while Tasha fought him off. He had a bad smell, like rotten meat.

I searched the corridor and found the fire extinguisher and grabbed it from its case and set it up, I pulled the trigger and sprayed the guy with foam, pushing him off of Tasha. He stood up against the wall and started coming after me. When the fire extinguisher was done, I threw the canister at him, causing him to fall down the stairs. I dusted the foam off of Tasha and helped her to her feet and grabbed her hand, I dragged her upstairs onto the next floor, and up another flight of stairs just to put some distance between us and that man, and pushed her into the bathroom.

Tasha started to scream but I covered her mouth with my hands and followed her gaze. Lying on the floor, covered in blood was one of our co-workers. She had deep wounds on her neck and on her side, but her eyes were wide open and staring at the bright white light of the Woman's bathroom. I could tell she wasn't breathing because her chest wasn't moving at all. Tasha started crying and I had to force myself to look away. I heard the groans behind us and I allowed the door to close silently behind us. I moved Tasha out of the way, forced her to move around the body and pushed her into the stall at the end of the line. It was the only one with a big window, and it was the handicap bathroom. I closed the door behind us and locked it.

The handicap bathroom was big, with its own sink and bars around the toilet and own cabinet. We were lucky our bathroom was the kind where there were no spaces between the stalls, of above the doors, it was its own safe and secure space. No one would be able to tell if we were in here. Tasha sat on the toilet and started sobbing. I leaned against the door and fell down to the floor, shocked to my core. How could Charlie not let us in when someone was trying to kill us?!

"When the police get here," I said to Tasha, "I'm killing Charlie."

"What's happening, Annie? Why was Amy dead? Why did that man try to bite me?!"

I sat up, "That man tried to _bite_ you?"

"Yeah, why would anyone do that?"

I was about to answer when I heard a loud scream, and then several more from inside the building. I stood up and walked to the window and forced it open. The smell of smoke filled my nose, along with something foul. The window wouldn't go far enough so I could see what was happening below, but I could hear the screaming, the sounds of gunshots and police sirens and chaos.

I moved from the window and crouched in front of Tasha, "Hey, hey, it's okay. Everything's just a little crazy now."

"Ahh…"

I stopped. That sound didn't come from me, or from Tasha. Tasha realized this as well and stared at me, the colour drained from her face. I stood up and walked to the door, I unlocked it as quietly as I could and pushed to open by just a crack. The mumbled sounds carried on, slow at first, and wet sounding. Suddenly Amy's arm lifted up violently, then a leg and then a very dead Amy was walking around. I heard screaming and someone ran into the bathroom, someone I didn't know but I could tell that they worked in the office somewhere. She screamed when she saw Amy and Amy limped and stumbled to her and took her down to the floor. My mouth fell open as I watched a very dead Amy lock her jaw on the other woman's throat.

I gagged when I saw her tear the flesh, and the smell of blood filled the air. The woman couldn't scream anymore, but Amy didn't notice as she tore more flesh from the other woman's body, spilling blood everywhere. I backed back into the stall and quietly locked the door. I tip-toed to Tasha and put my finger to my lips and shook head, unable to understand what I had just witnessed. Amy – a _dead_ Amy – had come back to _life_ and _eaten_ someone else.

It was like a bad horror movie, except it wasn't a horror movie…it was reality. And suddenly all the screaming, the smoke, the gunshots made perfect sense and I started questioning my own sanity. I sank down to the floor and cradled my head in my hands, thinking back to how Amy tore that poor woman's flesh right off her bones, the gurgled sound of blood filling her mouth. Even now, I could hear the very soft but distinct sound of someone chewing, chewing and chewing until another groan began, and like a chorus, they mumbling and groaning grew louder and softer and then the sound of wet flesh on wet tile drifted up and we were left alone…

I wiped the tears from my eyes, and stood up slowly. I went back to the door and unlocked it quietly and pushed it open, and we were left alone. I tip-toed out of the bathroom, ignoring Tasha's whispered cries. I tip-toed to the main door and opened one of the other bathroom door stalls to use as a shield. I looked at the mirror across the main door and looked into the corridor. There were a bunch of those creatures standing in the corridor, and blood was all over the floor, and so were bodies. Including one of those things that was keeping the door wide open.

I stood on my tip-toes to get a better look at the thing, and noticed the side of its skull was missing. I looked back at the mirror and heard gunshots, I jumped out of my skin and heard the creatures make louder groans and start shuffling towards where the sound was coming from. I turned to look behind me, and saw Tasha standing in the doorway of our stall, hand over her mouth to keep from crying. I motioned for her to calm down and crouched down on my hands and knees, keeping my eyes on the mirror. I crawled around the blood pool and my shield towards the main door. I crawled towards the slumped body and examined the bite marks on his arms. My whole body shook when I recognised our building's security uniform. I crawled towards the body, my eyes now focussed on the creatures that were lurking to go downstairs. I crawled closer to the body and moved so my feet went first. I tapped him with my foot but he didn't move.

_What's that?_

I crawled closer to the unmoving body and saw a flashlight sticking out of his pants pocket, as well as a cup by his foot and a Taser hanging from his jacket pocket. I looked up, and saw the creatures didn't notice my existence. I moved onto my hands and knees again and reached for the cup by his foot and for the Taser and the flashlight, I was moving back into the bathroom when I noticed that there was a latch lock on the bathroom door that could only be unlocked from the outside.

I could lock it, then we would be safe…but what if we need to get out? I looked at the corpse and gave him a little kick so he slumped forward. I kicked him away from the door and the spring made the door shut – right onto my leg.

I slammed a fist onto the tiled floor and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out. Tears welled up in my eyes and I pushed the door open to get my leg free. I stood up and peeked through the little window, the corridor was completely empty, but with the creak of the spring I didn't know who heard it. I turned and tried to put weight down on my foot, but pain rocketed through me. I cursed and limped back to Tasha, pushing her back into the bathroom and closing the door behind me and locking it.

I slumped down onto the floor and Tasha crouched beside me, "Are you okay? Oh god, what does it look like outside?"

"Not as pretty as you think," I rolled up my jeans, the bruises were already coming through, "Shit. That hurt a lot."

"How long do we have to stay here?" Tasha asked.

"I'm not sure. It looks like hell outside," I leaned against the wall, "I think it'll be safer to stay for a little while."

"What are we going to do for food and water?"

I lifted up the cup, "We've got our own private sink. And I've got food in my bag. One perk to being at Charlie's call. I eat a lot on the road. When that runs out, I'm not sure what we're going to do."

"What do we do now?" Tasha sat beside me, staring at the door.

"Wait for help. And if it doesn't come, we'll figure something out," I closed my eyes. The lack of sleep was finally catching up with me, but I was too frightened to sleep. I opened my eyes and saw Tasha crying again, and she sat in front of the door, determined to make it difficult to get into the bathroom.

She gave me a small smile and a small nod. The lights flickered above me and I shook my head. I couldn't sleep now, not when I needed a plan. What was I going to do if no one came to help us? I opened my bag and pulled out a deck of cards and started shuffling them. I dragged myself to sit beside Tasha and dealt out the cards, and we played crazy eights to distract ourselves from the screaming…

I was right about it being a shitty day.

* * *

**A/N: Hello hi, so the reason I decided to rewrite Apocalyptic Annie was mostly because I was interested in Lee's story and how he came to survive the Walkers, and it was really intriguing so I decided to give it a shot and I kinda like it. In my head when I type this all out, I see it as half TWD series episodes and TWD Game episodes so that's why I decided to make it a crossover because I honestly love characters from both the series and the game.**

**For now, I hope you like the story and enjoy it. It might be OC but TWD characters are bound to meet up eventually. Sorry for any errors but they're there, treat them like you would chocolate.**

**I hope you enjoyed reading it, and you liked it enough to leave me a review :D**

**That's all for now,**

**-SBDI**


	3. Chapter 1 Daylight Part 2

**Apocalyptic Annie**

**Chapter 1**

**Daylight Part 2**

**Day 4**

My head shot up when I heard a _clink_. The lights were off now, darkness was all around us. Tasha was staring at the wall and I was sitting on the cold floor. I think I'd fallen asleep but not really because every time I moved, or heard a noise I was awake, studying the door or the window and listening for sounds.

Some of those creatures had wondered into the bathroom, but they never found us. We kept quiet anyway, even though we could hear them leave. I still didn't know what was happening, still didn't understand it. And our food source was running low. Chips and candy could only last for so long. I rubbed my eyes and stood up to stretch my legs but I heard that _clink_ noise again, and froze. It was louder this time, so Tasha turned to look at me.

"What's that?" Tasha whispered.

"I don't know," I replied back. I crawled closer to her and listened, but I couldn't hear a thing, except for my stomach growling. I turned to Tasha, "Okay, we can't stay here. We need to leave and get food or something."

"What do you think we should do? Those things are outside," Tasha replied.

"I know, but we have to move or we'll die here," I stood up and helped Tasha to her feet. "The car is probably still downstairs. I have the keys, we can get out of here and go home."

"But we'd have to go downstairs through all of those things," Tasha wiped her eyes. "I'm scared, Annie. Why can't we stay here until help comes?"

"Because we've been here for a while and _no one_ has come," I said a little harsher than I needed too. But I was hungry, and Tasha was whiny and I was starting to get annoyed. I gathered my bag and dug around for the car-keys, the cup, the flashlight and the Taser. The Taser would do some damage, but I needed something else. I looked around the bathroom and looked at the window, "Broken glass could cut a few people up if we needed too."

I walked to the toilet and looked at tank of it. The kind with a removable ceramic lid. I picked up the lid and buckled under the weight. It was lighter, it would be a really good defence weapon. Instead, I lifted the lid and threw it against the window and listened to it shatter and scatter all over the floor. The ceramic lid shattered the glass completely, except for a few long pieces here and there. I chose the longest piece with the sharpest edge. I grabbed some toilet paper and wrapped it several times around my hand until it was thick. I grabbed the broken glass around the thin part and with the back of the flashlight, I hit it repeatedly until it broke, but it made my weapon a lot smaller.

I turned to Tasha, "Are you ready?"

"No, I want to stay here!" Tasha yelled.

I pushed her against the wall, pressed my hand to her mouth and whispered, "Will you keep your voice down! Tasha, I'm not asking you to come with me, I'm telling you. If you stay here, you'll die. So suck it up and just come with me."

"I don't want too," Tasha hissed when I moved my hand from her mouth. I stared into her bright blue eyes and stood back, "It's safe here."

"If it was safe, don't think there would be more people here? Don't you think someone would have come for us? Tasha, there's _nothing_ here."

"There has to be!" Tasha yelled again.

I rushed up to her again, slammed her against the wall, "Would you keep quiet––"

Suddenly something banged on our bathroom door, making me jump. Then there was another bang, and groaning and moaning. Those creatures found us, and now we were done for. Tasha started screaming and I searched the bathroom, looking for anything to help us. I turned to the window and looked out of it but I couldn't see much of anything––

"A fire-escape," I called out. Right below our window, a little to the right, there was the familiar black railing of a fire-escape coming from one of the emergency exits, "If we jump a little to the left, I'm sure we can reach one of the rails."

"And what if we miss?" Tasha cried.

"Then we die," another loud bang followed by a crack came from the door, "Which is better than dying here," I grabbed the flashlight and used it to hit out the rest of the broken glass until it was all gone. I climbed onto the sill and balanced myself to see how far the railing was from the window.

It was a small jump, I'm sure I could manage it. I just needed to time it perfectly and make sure I grab the railing. Or at least fall on it. I balanced myself out the window and jumped, hearing Tasha scream. I stretched my hands and grabbed the railing but one hand slipped and I tumbled from the top of the fire-escape and over it. I managed to grab onto the bottom of it, dangling two stories above the ground. I suddenly felt stupid for skipping the gym. I heard Tasha screaming from above me somewhere but I couldn't concentrate on that now. With all my strength (and adrenaline) I pulled myself up and grabbed the lip of the fire-escape, and pulled myself up until I was safely in the balcony. I looked up at the window.

"Tasha, jump!" I called.

"I don't want too, I'm scared!" Tasha whined back.

"Tasha, stop being a whiny bitch and do something or get eaten!" I yelled back, the adrenaline was coursing through my veins and heating up my anger. Tasha started crying again and climbed up onto the windowsill. I heard a loud crack from above and Tasha screamed. She jumped out of the window towards me and held out her hands. I ran to the edge of the balcony and grabbed her hands as she fell. I caught her hands in my own, and I pulled her over the balustrade and together we rushed down the ladders until we reached the ground floor.

The minute both of us where on the floor, the groaning started up again, and all from around the streets, those creatures slowly limped towards us. I grabbed Tasha's hand and ran towards the garage. There were creatures scattered all over, and the sound of Tasha's heels and my sneakers echoed around the underground parking lot. I saw the car and unlocked it and sprinted to the door while Tasha jumped into the back seat. I put the key in and started the engine, it roared to life and all those creatures turned to the sound. I put the car into gear and just hit the gas, and burst through the doors. We rushed down the streets, leaving those creatures behind as I headed down the road.

I looked around, the city was absolutely wrecked. Papers and trash lined up the streets, fires burned without anyone to manage them, and those creatures limped all over the place. There were so many bodies everywhere, lying in the streets, the smell was horrible.

"What's happening?" Tasha cried in the seat behind me.

"I'm not sure," I looked around, every door and window was wide open or bordered shut and locked up. Police cars were scattered, cars were scattered, where was everyone else? I swerved out of the road, narrowly missing one of those decomposing creatures.

"Where are we going to go? Home? I don't think home will be safe," Tasha whispered. She looked outside, "I don't think anywhere is safe."

"We can't focus on that right now," I replied. "Right now, I think we need to get out of the city––"

"Annie!"

I turned away from Tasha but it was too late, I hit the car in front of us at full speed and I flew out of the windscreen. I rolled off of the hood of the other car and landed in the road, scraping my skin and tearing my flesh.

My head hit the tar hard and black stars burst in front of my eyes as I rolled a few more times before I stopped on my stomach. My vision was blurry and the scenery around me started swimming. There was a white noise somewhere. My eyes looked around and I could see the car, I could also see Tasha lying on the hood of my car…

"Ta…sha…," I tried to move my limbs, but I couldn't feel my arms. Or my legs. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't even jump when one of those decomposing creatures started wandering towards Tasha. I tried to move, tried my best to pick myself up but I couldn't find my feet.

Then I heard a loud noise that brought all my hearing back, and I could see people moving around the cars, around me, shooting at the creatures. Then someone was by my arm, "Stand up, girl. You aren't going to die today!"

"We should just leave them," someone else said.

"Hell no," the voice closer to me said. "We'd been watching them since they came out the bathroom. We aren't letting them die now," I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. "C'mon girl, I saw you movin' just a second ago. Stand up!"

"H…hurts to move," I pulled my arm closer to me and tried to find something to push myself up, but I didn't know where I was anymore.

"Stand up, girl. We'll do the rest," the voice said. It didn't help me find solid ground, so my hand was tapping whatever around me. Until I found my head, I put my hand down on the ground next to my head and moved my other arm next to my head. I did half a push up and suddenly I was picked up, "Gotcha! Grab the other girl and let's go!"

"You got it!"

And all of a sudden I was moving, but my body felt limp. I tried to keep my eyes open and I tried to focus on the person that helped me, but I could feel the lack of sleep and the pain was going to make me pass out.

"Don't worry, darlin'," the voice was closer now. "We're gonna get you somewhere safe."

"What's happening?" I asked, but it didn't sound like it did in my head. It sounded off, and more like a mumble.

"Easy there, girl," the voice replied. "Keeping quiet is what kept us alive so far. So shut your mouth and drift of. We'll be safe soon."

I nodded, well, it felt like I nodded, "Thank you. Name…name is…is…Annie."

"I know," was the voice's reply. "We've been lookin' for you."

* * *

**A/N: Hello, hi! So here's part 2 of Chapter 1 and sorry it it's a little fast paced, I just wanted to get right into the story. And after the last part (part 3 of chapter 1), the real fun can start with the characters! I'm so excited to see what I can do with this story, so I hope you're enjoying it so far!**

**Feel free to drop me a line, a review, a favourite, a follow (whatever)**

**Sorry for any errors...I don't re-read. I should, but I don't. But if I do that, who's going eat all this delicious chocolate?!**

**That's all for now :)**

**\- SBDI**


	4. Chapter 1 Daylight Part 3

**Apocalyptic Annie**

**Chapter 1**

**Daylight Part 3**

**Day 10…I think…**

"C'mon girl, wake up. It's time to eat," well that's a weird thing to hear on the radio. I turned to my car radio and moved to fidget with the buttons but all of a sudden, there was a scream behind me and I crashed into a stationary station wagon, and I flew through the glass.

My eyes fluttered open to the concrete ceiling above me, and the air smelled like scented candles and blood. Suddenly my stomach rolled and I turned over – nearly falling off of the bed – and I vomited up what little I had in my stomach. I coughed violently, causing the bed to shake beneath me and to chaff against my torn skin and open wounds. I was shivering from head to toe and I didn't know why. I felt everything but the cold. I froze when I felt a hand on my back I sat up quickly and whirled around and instantly regretted it.

My ribs throbbed in protest and all my bandages came off and stuck to the bed sheet. I looked at the unfamiliar stranger, he was middle-aged and grey, but he was tall and stocky. I watched him carefully and he chuckled, "Easy there, Annie. I ain't gonna hurt ya. This is the longest you've been conscious."

I eyed him up and down, he had colour in his cheeks, he was able to move and speak and there was the unmistakable smell of whiskey on his breath and not the smell of death. I relaxed a little, "You're not one of them…"

"One of what? Them dead ones?" I nodded slowly and he sighed, "Yeah, I'm one of those unfortunate survivors."

"What's unfortunate about surviving?" I asked.

He chuckled again, "Well, we gotta fight 'em dead ones day and night or else we become one of 'em. And they outnumber us about a thousand to one. Sometimes I wonder if it would've been better to off myself before shit hit the fan."

I looked around the room, "The dead ones? Are there any here? Are they really dead?"

He sighed again, and I noticed that he was exhausted. Overly tired, he looked like I did before this whole mess started, "From what we've heard, there ain't much of them out in the country. But lately they're everywhere. And from what I can tell, they're the walking dead. And once you get bit, you become one of 'em. That happened to Foster. Got bit in the leg and turned into one of 'em. It's amazing how it happens."

"How did it happen?" I whispered, "How did this mess start?"

"Well, we're not sure. The CDC tried to contain it but no such luck. It's survival of the fittest now. You gotta kill 'em before they kill you."

"_Kill_?!" I jerked forward and groaned when my ribs ached.

"Easy, girl. Easy," he pushed me back to lean against the headboard and forced me to relax, "They ain't people anymore. You gotta kill 'em before they kill you. Best way to do that is to blow their brains out. Destroy the brain, and there's one less Walker to worry about."

"Walker?" I cocked my head to the side, "Oh, I get it. Walking dead. Ha-ha," I froze, when out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of bandage wrapped around my arm. I couldn't remember what happened to me after climbing in my car and driving, "What am I doing here? What happened to me?"

"You were in a car accident. I don't know who has a car accident when there's no cars around but 'cause you were talking to your friend, you hit a car and fell right through the windscreen. Our doctor's amazed you don't have any serious injuries but you did hit your head pretty hard there," he turned and dug something out of his pocket. It was a silver flask. He handed it to me, "Name's Tom."

He handed me the flask out to me, but I just stared at it. I met his brown eyes and just studied him. He looked like he'd been here all his life, I wasn't sure how bad everything was outside of the safety of the handicap bathroom so for all I knew, this _was_ his life.

I waved the flask away with a shaky hand, "Annie."

"Nice to meet ya, Annie. I've heard a lot," Tom grinned. "Although I wish the circumstances were a little different."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Glenn has been busting my ass to help him look for you. And if Glenn wasn't enough, Carly started too," he sighed.

"Glenn? Carly? Those are people from my building. They've been looking for me?" I tried to sit up, but my ribs protested and I fell back against the headboard, "Where are they now?"

"We were separated by a swarm of those Walkers this mornin'," he tapped his chin. "Far as I know, they've barricaded themselves in the pharmacy downtown."

"Will they be safe there?" I tried to sit up again, slower this time.

"I think they'll be fine. They got some Air Force pilot with 'em. But it's not safe to stay in one place for too long," Tom stood up. "So now that you're awake, we're probably gonna move out soon. So eat up, okay? It's soup. Hopefully it'll stay down long enough for us to move."

"Where are we moving too?" I searched the room for the food, and found it right next to me on the bedside table. I don't know what it was, but it smelled better than the chips I'd been eating. I reached out for the bowl but my body ached so I fell back against the headboard.

Tom gave me a small smile and stood up. He picked up the bowl and gave it to me. I took the warm bowl in my hands and looked up at Tom. He smiled, "It's been a little rough without electricity. Lucky enough, someone had a gas stove up on the fifth floor."

I took the spoon and stirred the off-yellow watery contents, "What happened to Tasha? She was with me. Where's she?"

"Your friend is fine," Tom sat down on the bed again. "She's a little torn up, but she didn't fly out of the car. The Walkers almost got her. Her face ain't so pretty now," Tom reached out gingerly and his fingertips just brushed my temple. It felt like something wet was stuck to my skin, "Your face is pretty messed up too, but time will heal all wounds. It's just a question of how much time."

I smiled and shakily lifted the soup to my lips. Even though the bowl was warm, the soup was almost cold but it was welcomed into my stomach and it made the taste of vomit go away. I wiped my lips and felt that my skin was a little off, my hand was covered in bandages, right up to my elbow.

I could suddenly remember hitting the tar road, rolling and rolling until I finally stopped. I knew I had torn flesh, I could feel it burning on the asphalt. I shook at the memory and ate another spoonful before Tom stood up.

"I'm gonna go patrol the area. You rest up, darlin'. We might need to move soon," he walked to the door and pulled it open. "I'll ask the doctor to come take a look at ya. You've been out for a while."

"Thank you," I turned back to my soup when I was left alone. I lifted the bowl to my lips and drank down the soup, while I looked around the room.

It was a small room, the windows weren't boarded up like the buildings I had driven past before. There wasn't much in it now. The heavy set dressing table was pushed against the window, so all I could see was sky, and there was only one door in and out the room.

_I wonder where I am… _

I finished my soup and set it back down on the bedside table. I slowly threw my blanket off of me, and lifted my heavy legs from the mattress and struggled to get them onto the carpet. I was only in my underwear and a tank top. A part of me should have been disgusted, but the bigger part of me wondered how I could still be alive after all of this. I was covered in dried blood, cuts, tears and bruises of different colours. My ankle was still swollen from a few days back but the bruise was already yellow and I hardly felt any pain. Most of the damage from the car crash was covered by bandages that desperately needed to be changed, maybe the doctor was running low on supplies.

I forced myself to stand up on shaky muscles, I swayed from side to side as I wondered to the window. I climbed on top of the dresser and peeked outside the window. Most of those creatures – I mean, Walkers – were outside, wondering aimlessly, not really noticing that I was here. Which was good, but I knew I wouldn't be so invisible when we had to leave.

The streets looked abandoned, empty with scattered belongings and usual things that were used for everyday life that now was discarded on the ground like reality. You'd never be able to tell that this hell hole had only been for a few days, looks like a few months with the way the buildings wore their broken windows, boarded doors and papers cast in the wind. It was like the movies, and humanity would have to start all over again and that thought was frightening.

A knock made me look away from the window as the door was pushed open slightly, a man with dark hair, eyes and skin entered the room. He carried a little backpack with him and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"You shouldn't be moving," he said in a deep, melodious voice. "It could make your injuries worse."

"I'm aware of that," I replied, moving slowly away from the window. "But my muscles hurt more than my injuries. I haven't been this stiff since High School."

He chuckled, "I had the exact same thought when this all started," he set his back-pack down on the bed. "My name is Doctor – er, I mean, Xavier. I guess, we have no use for doctors anymore."

"Annie," I nodded. "I was going to go to Medical School before all this started. So by all means, keep your title, Doc."

"You're sweet," he grinned. "C'mon. Sit here so we can change those bandages."

Doc moved towards me and helped me move slowly to the bed. He sat me down and crouched down in front of me, examining the bandages, occasionally nodding every now and then, "I need to change the bandages. Some of the blood has seeped through."

"It's dry by now already. That means you might have to tear it off," I mumbled. He looked at me past the rim of his glasses and nodded. I groaned, "Great."

"The good news is that the bleeding stopped by now. And once we replace the bandages and you wear some tighter clothes, the bleeding should stop immediately," he started unravelling the bandage on my calf, slowly at first and then his experienced hands started making fast work of the layers, "So how did you survive for so long on your own, Annie?"

"I locked my friend and I up in a handicap bathroom," I tried to relax, but I could feel that the bandage had healed in my skin already and I knew it was going to be a bitch to rip out. "My old boss refused to let us into the office. It's still so crazy. How did everything turn out this way?"

"It just happened, and escalated a lot faster than any of us expected. When they started bringing what we dubbed the Bitten People into the E.R, they flat lined right under our hands. I'll never forget one patient flat-lined right under my wife's hands, half an hour of failed resuscitation my wife wanted to call T.O.D, but then the dead patient came back and bit my wife right over her shoulder, tore out a clump of muscle. When the dead started walking, my wife was already one of them. So I grabbed as much as I could from the storage units and bolted, five backpacks later, Tom found me and brought me to another building. We'd been moving ever since."

"You grabbed enough supplies in five backpacks?" I asked, feeling the aching pull of melted skin and bandage.

"And I went back for more after I met Tom," Doc propped my leg up and ripped the bandage from my skin. I fell back against the bed and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming. I could feel the blood seeping down my leg, I could feel my nerves throbbing from the pain, I could also feel my muscles screaming from the pain, and fibres from the soiled bandage still left inside the wound.

"Ohmygod, Ohmygod, Ohmygod, Ohmygod, I sat up, wiping the tears from my eyes. "I'm so sorry, that just really hurt. And I'm sorry I'm crying."

"Its fine," Doc looked up at me. "Everyone's been crying."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked at the doctor, "I guess everyone has a reason too."

The doctor didn't say anything after that, he just kept on working. I looked away from him, trying once again to wrap my head around everything. How could everything go so wrong so fast? I had no idea people from my building cared about me so much…I was just a little orphan girl who worked most of the time. How could people care about me? I looked down at the doctor as he got to work on my leg, I couldn't feel anything now.

I think people was what I needed now…

**^APOCALYPTIC ANNIE^**

I was trying hard not to cry out when I slipped on my clothes. It was hard trying not to move the bandages too much but the clothes had to be tight so it could stop the blood from flowing. I didn't know what would be outside the room that I was in, but I could hear them talking so my guess was that where ever we were, we were in a small area.

I'd already met Tom and the doctor, as well as found out that the two were saved by someone not much older than me who was in the army. Doc Xavier described him as the leader and he says that their main priority is to keep Doc safe. I haven't met this leader yet, but apparently it's up to him whether or not I go with them to some safe haven.

And I was actually in two minds about it! I had trust issues from before all this shit started, and now I was expected to trust complete and total strangers with my life? Hell no. A thousand times hell no. I don't care if we share some mutual survival friends or not, these people could be serial killers for all I knew.

_Not that the people out there are any better…_

A knock on the door brought my head up just as I finished tying my boot. The door opened silently and a man around my age came in, and he was older than expected. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans with combat boots. I would have considered him a hero, if it wasn't for the blood all over his face and exposed arms. Or the two guns tucked into his belt. And I knew who he was instantly when I saw the military dog-tag hanging around his neck.

"The illustrious leader, I presume?" I put my hands on my hips.

"Not the leader," he threw his hands up in defence. His cold blue eyes met mine and one hand went to mess up his already messy blonde hair, "Glenn's been on my case to find you. Now that I did, I gotta ask what you did to him to make him so worried about you."

I shrugged, "I gave him good tips when he brought my pizza," I sat on the bed. "So now that you have me where you want me, what are you going to do with me?"

"Keep you alive. That's what we do, keep people alive," he sat down on the bed beside me. "We're going out into the country, leaving the city. The less people, the less Walkers, the better our chances of living," his pretty blue eyes looked at me. "You want to live, right?"

"Of course I do," I looked down at my shoes. My new boots that the doctor had brought me because my sneakers were torn, "But how will we get to the country. By the sounds of my injuries, I think the car would be worse."

"Your car was fucked," he nodded. "But there are cars around us. We just need to find a working one."

"And drive out into the country?" I repeated. He nodded, "Seems like a stable plan."

"It's the best we've come up with so far. It's just getting there," he sighed. After a moment of silence he held out his hand, "I'm Abel. Just came back from the war before all this started."

I shook his hand, "Annie. I was locked in a bathroom."

"There are worse places to survive," he turned to me. "But you're alive and that's all that matters. And now that you can move, maybe we can move to a more secure location."

"What about Tasha?" I whispered.

"Your injuries were worse than hers. Her face got pretty messed up, but Doc stitched her up nicely. Think you can move?"

I looked down at my injured hands and leg, "I think I'll survive."

"Great––," Abel was cut off when gunshots started bouncing off the walls and echoing inside the empty building. The doctor grabbed me and rushed me out of the room, to another room two doors down. Tasha was just standing next to Tom and the doctor, a young girl that couldn't have been much older than me and her mother, who was clinging to her.

"Annie," Tasha called but Tom put a hand over her mouth and pushed her closer to me.

Abel walked to the double bed and lifted it up, hoisting it up on one side to revel a carpet. The doctor pushed the carpet aside and there, in the middle of the wooden floorboards was a giant hole that was just black. I didn't know how deep it was, but the mother and child jumped in first, Tasha and I were pushed in soon after.

I fell into the darkness, my ankles buckling under my weight while Abel, Tom and the doctor jumped into the hole, letting the bed fall back down in place and allowing the carpet to slide back over the hole. I heard a crack and then I saw Abel shake a small green glow stick to light up the dark hole that was dug into the ground. He put a finger to his lips and gestured to Tasha and I. Tasha started sobbing, overwhelmed because she didn't understand what was happening––

And then came the loud thumps. Footsteps. Heavy ones. Abel stood up slowly, lifting the carpet to see who had entered our space. I heard him curse under his breath and he looked down at us.

"Those bandits are back," he cursed as he sank back down slowly, "Obviously here to steal from us like they've done before."

"What about all of our stuff?" the mother demanded, "All the medical supplies?"

"We've hidden them in burrows just like this," the doctor explained. "Don't worry, they won't get us again."

"Again?" Tasha yelped, "What do you mean again?!"

"Keep your voice down, girl," Tom scolded, "They don't take to friendly to us."

"We're not the dead people though––"

Suddenly the person above us was screaming. Bloody murder. On instinct, I guess, I shot to my feet and pushed the carpet up. I wish I hadn't. I saw two sets of feet. And blood pooling on the ground. The two people were fighting and suddenly they were on the ground, one of the men had his mouth on the other man's neck, ripping flesh from his bones. Blood shot like a rocketed from the other man's neck, beating with his pulse before the fountain subsided and just started oozing from the gaping wound, and the man made gurgling sounds, choking on his own blood…

My stomach turned, and gagged before I watched the other man rip apart more flesh with his teeth. His eyes never once came to me, and the sound of tearing flesh from bone would forever echo inside my mind. I was trembling, fighting back the vomit, the dizziness and the confusion and I couldn't look away…

Not even as the man ripped apart the dying man's leg muscles and chewed them up. I heard the sound of more boots and saw them in the doorway, and the monster with a face full of blood turned to them. I couldn't hear what they were saying because my own heartbeat was throbbing away between my ears…

And the throbbing stopped when the gunshot rang out…

And caused the cannibal's head to explode all over the man that he'd just eaten. His lifeless body fell sideways, splashing in the dark red pool. The boots turned away, leaving their dying friend on the ground, groaning and moaning and unable to move.

"We have to help him," I whispered.

"He's already dead, Annie," Abel said slowly. "And now they're in here, we don't know how many we have to go through now."

I glared at the blonde man, "How can you say that?! That man just _murdered_ him!" I pulled myself from the hole quickly, too fast for Abel to catch me.

The blood was still warm when I reached the dying man. His head was covered by a black beanie but his bright green eyes was looking at me, begging me for something that I couldn't quite grasp. I gathered him into my arms, but there was blood everywhere.

"Shhh, shhh, we'll get you to a hospital," I cooed, but his eyes just widened and he began trembling.

"Annie, there are no hospitals!" I heard someone say behind me. I turned around and saw Abel lifting up the bed and kicking aside the carpet to let the others out, "We've got to go now, before this scene attracts more of those Walkers."

"We can't just leave him here," Tasha said as she fell beside me. She reached for the man's hand, "We have to help him."

"There is no helping him," the doctor said as he stood beside me, "C'mon, we gotta go."

"I will not leave him," I turned to him, "Please, you have to help him––"

And then the man went still. I felt my heart break for him because no one deserved to die this way. I set him down in the dark pool of blood that surrounded us, biting my cut up lip just to keep from sobbing. Nothing stopped Tasha though. She cried loudly and just wouldn't stop. I was pulled to my feet before I could comfort my friend.

Abel forced me to meet his eyes, "Listen here, girlie. This isn't the world anymore. This is war. Those things kill us. And I have no intention of dying. And you didn't jump out of window and haul ass outta town just to die somewhere else."

"He didn't deserve to die!" I yelled at him.

"None of us do, but we die nonetheless," Abel snapped back. "These things. They're dead. They died and then they came back. Do you know how they came back? They were eaten by those Walkers!"

"Bullshit––"

Suddenly Tasha screamed, the loudest scream I've ever heard. I whirled around to see that that dead man had clamped his jaw around her neck. His teeth had sunken so far into her skin that blood was flowing out like a river. Before I could think I kicked the man right between his eyes, his sharp teeth tearing flesh from Tasha's neck and his skull bashed against the wall.

"Oh…my…god," Tasha said slowly, her hand went to her neck. She just stared at me for the longest time. "Oh my…god. Ohmygod, Ohmygod, Ohmygod! He just bit me! That dead man just bit me!"

"Easy, Tasha," I moved her hand aside to see a chunk of her skin was missing from her neck, blood flowed down and seeped through her clothes. "It's not that serious."

"Not that serious?! Not that serious?! Ohmygod, a dead man just bit me!" Tasha started fanning herself, "Ohmygod. What's going to happen to me? Am I going to die?"

"You are not going to die," I snapped.

"Yes, she is," the doctor said from somewhere behind me. I didn't know where. But I grabbed Tasha's shoulders, "That's what happened to him."

"I'm going to die," Tasha sobbed.

"No, you aren't!" I shouted, "You didn't just out a window just to die somewhere else. I won't let you!"

"You have no choice, Annie," Abel said. I heard him click something in place and saw the barrel of a gun aimed right between Tasha's eyes.

I shot to my feet, "The fuck you think you're doing? You're going to _kill_ Tasha?!"

"Or else she becomes one of them, too!" Abel yelled.

"Over my dead body are you killing Tasha," I yelled, "I know I'm little but I will rip you limb from limb if you even lay a hand on her!"

"Annie…"

"Listen to yourself," Abel hissed. "You don't know anything! Being locked up and knocked out has fucked your head up completely! It's survival of the fittest now. Your friend lost the fight. End it for her now before she ends up like one of the Walkers."

"No," I snapped. I turned to Tasha, "You are fine. You are perfectly fine."

"Annie…," Tasha whispered. "I don't feel so good."

"You are fine, Tasha. Everything is going to be okay––"

Suddenly Tasha was ripped from my arms and there was more screaming. The mother and daughter and Tasha were pulled away by those creatures, their flesh being torn open right in front of me. I watched the massacre before their blood was spilled on me because those creatures tore open arteries. I was pulled onto my feet, pulled back and guided to another door on the other side of the room. Abel shot the creatures and they fell to the ground with the remaining survivors. I rushed to Tasha's side, and every inch of her was covered in blood…

"Annie…," she managed to choke out.

I cried while I held her in my arms, sobbing while her heart came to a slow and steady stop a few minutes later and screamed when she came back to life and tried to eat me. Abel shot her, the daughter and the mother without a second thought. I held Tasha again, letting her blood sink into my clothes and stain my skin. Tasha turned into one of them…

…and while I watched the water turn pink while I stood in the shower of our new safe haven, I cried some more because Tasha didn't need to die. I was careless to just leave her with that man. It was all my fault and this guilt would never go away.

But the doctor said that a sacrifice had to be made so I could see what the world had become. And it seemed all too clear to me now.

This wasn't a world anymore.

This was a war.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is a lot late but anyway! Here it is and I hope you enjoy it! I don't own TWD or any of its characters. I only own the characters that I've created. This note is going to be short but I hope you've liked this chapter and share it with all your friendies!**

**Please read and review if you would like to read more chapters! Sorry for any spelling and grammar errors!**

**I hope you liked it!**

**\- SBDI**


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